For quick or temporary medical treatments, patients wearing street clothes can roll up their sleeves for access to arms, adjust a collar for access to the neck, and lift a lower hem for access to the torso. Access for a syringe needle shot or blood pressure reading can be completed quickly so clothing is not much of an issue.
However, street clothes can hinder access to areas of the body being undergoing longer or more frequent treatments. For example, doctors and nurses may need to access a central line for administration of medical treatment, administer intravenous therapy, or access diagnostic wires that transverse the skin. When adults and children need frequent medical treatment intravenous medicines, blood products and blood draws, it becomes more difficult as time progresses to find a usable vein. In one case, a central venous access line (or central line) is frequently accessed over a period of several years after placement in the patient as a permanent intravenous tube or catheter which can stay in place as long as it is needed. One type of central line, an internal line called a PORT-A-CATH is entirely under the skin and located in the upper chest, abdomen or groin area of a patient. An external line called a PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) has tubing outside the skin. Both have a long thin tube reaching the large vein that goes to the heart. Another problem is that street clothes can be unsanitary and threaten the integrity of such medical processes. As a result, patients can change into a hospital gown made for easy access and removal.
Problematically, while hospital gowns maximize access, comfort can be minimized. Conventional gowns have wide sleeves also provide easy access, for example, for IV needles to be inserted and secured for prolonged treatments, and then ultimately removed. Also, gowns are typically completely open in the rear other than ties around the midriff of hip and sometimes the neckline, allowing a new gown to be changed into without disturbing any needles or other connections to the body. But the one-size-fits-all approach of hospital gowns and thinness of cotton material for frequent washes in hot water can leave patients feeling overexposed and chilly. The generic designs lack privacy and are unappealing to many, which can lend to a negative overall mental state that is potentially harmful to treatments.
Therefore, it is desirable to overcome these shortcomings with a robust upper body garment to accommodate medical equipment during prolonged or frequent treatments.